The Duck-Rabbit Barleywine

Brewed by The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery
Style: Barley Wine
Farmville, North Carolina USA

355 mL. Pours a beautiful deep ruby with a wonderfully creamy tan head that settles down to a thin layer. Excellent lacing. Aromas of piney hops, spicy alcohol, caramel, butterscotch. Taste up front is all sugar and candied fruits and then moves to spicy alcohol and piney hops. Long bitter aftertaste with some lingering spiciness in the back. The alcohol here definitely has a huge presence. Not bad but could be a little smoother and less astringent.

Thanks to durhambeer for the bottle!
Amber red with a short-lived hay colored head. Nose has the hop citrus and caramel with some sugar and malt making it slightly sweet. It’s the standard BW combo, but here the flavor comes together rather beefy and spicy, quite odd. Palate is watery and short lived, bitterness the strongest aspect. Good stuff, but it never gets to the next level.

very tasty. the flavor of heavy malts and deep caramel. The deep fruits and roasted nutty goodness. does have some pine hops as a mild case of astringent. not that thick and has some light fizzy. well done

The aroma is full of caramel, syrup, fruit, grain husks, and hops. The appearance is mahogany with a super thin head. The flavor is like the aroma with some muskiness and soapiness. The palate is typical for the style. Overall its better than average but thats all.

Bottle, best before 12/07. Not sure how old that makes it. Aroma of very sweet dark fruits, powerful above the malt that eventually begins to show, sweet as well. Even sweeter in the mouth, though the dark fruits do remain to keep it from being a syrupy mess. Perhaps would have been best right at about its best by date. Still though, thought it was alright.

Bottle. Pours a huge fluffy white banana and vanilla colored head that refuses to subside. Nice prominent chunky lacing. Tea-colored with golden highlights. Nose is of sweet dark fruit, some smoked malt, caramel, bitter hops, and a tangy floral vibe. Flavors of dark fruit, pears, mango, some tropical hop floral notes, sweet malts,. with caramel and brown sugar, and some roasted notes in the finish. The alcohol is felt quite a bit at times, not the easiest to drink, definitely something to sit and savor.

Bottle (best by 12/2007) courtesy of my Secret Santa. Pours a murky mahogany with a supper thick, foamy tan head. Aroma of toffee, vegetal notes, an odd sweetness. Flavor of sweet malt and vegetal notes. A little too sweet/vegetal, even for an aged barleywine. This is far past its prime. Hopefully I will be able to rerate this again fresh. 6/4/5/3/12 (3.0/5)

Bottle courtesy of ATLBeerDog poured a lightly hazy copper brown with a lingering ring of amber foam. Aromas of carmel, toffee, oxidation, dark fruit. molasses and light spice. Palate was medium bodied and smooth. Flavors of carmel, molasses, dark fruit and light oxidation with a smooth lingering malty finish.